Merlin stiffened. His chin quivered, and cold sweat rolled down his back. Even if he wanted to go against the order he was given by the mystery man, he had lost the ability to speak. The last time he had felt this type of fear was when the lady in black had crept up behind him during his fight with the Ice Wyverns. And hers paled in comparison to what he was feeling now.

  Were the two individuals related? This guy and that lady? Were they together in the mysterious organization?

  Since he couldn’t speak up, Merlin’s mind went into overdrive. Countless thoughts rushed through his head without giving him a moment to settle down and sort through them. Ways to escape, ways to call for help, who the man beside him was, who the lady in black was, why exactly was he being caught up with mysterious people, and were they involved in the reason why Nikolai almost died. Questions, questions, questions. Merlin felt like his head would explode from the lack of answers plaguing him. He clenched his jaw.

  “Relax,” said the man. “As long as you keep quiet, I have no intention of killing you.”

  Then why am I feeling so much murderous intent pouring out of you? Merlin thought, wanting to ask the man; but his mouth remained slammed shut.

  “I’ve always wanted to speak with you, Merlin Tyrrell,” the man continued. “But you’ve been subconsciously keeping a distance from me despite how I opened my doors to you. I had no choice but to come to you instead.”

  Merlin’s brows furrowed even further. What the heck was the man talking about?

  The man’s eyes shifted to the pictures of Professor Dmitri on Merlin’s phone and smiled. “I see you got my gift. Good. That’s a sign of my proposal for a truce with you. I do hope that you don’t hold any grudges against me because of your friend Nikolai.” Merlin’s pulse raced, and the man’s grip tightened on his arm. “You really should calm down. There’s no point in getting riled up here. It will achieve nothing.”

  Just from the words the man had said, Merlin came to the definitive conclusion that he was the mastermind behind the drugs that destroyed Nikolai’s life. In other words, the person Merlin had been seeking all this while—the person he had pushed Sunny to find—was seated beside him at this moment. He could have his revenge now. All he had to do was hold him down and find a way to pass across the message to the headmaster that the person they were seeking was right here in the academy’s ground.

  But there was no way someone who was smart enough to evade the Consortium Guild would walk right into the camp of the opposition if he was not certain that he could escape.

  This man was dangerous.

  Merlin took a deep breath and relaxed. The man glanced at his arm and smiled.

  “You’re a smart kid,” the man said. “You seem to have realized that trying to play the hero would be a most unwise choice. I like you even more.”

  Merlin didn’t say anything, deciding to play along without any more resistance.

  “Dmitri Volkov,” the man continued, relaxing his grip on Merlin’s arm in accordance with Merlin’s resignation. “I understand your anger towards me, but shouldn’t you be focusing your annoyance on this man instead? Nikolai is his brother, and you would be a fool to not have noticed the way your friend was being treated by him. He was also the one who sent the boy to us, desperate to be strong to please his brother. I’d say your fury is misplaced.”

  Merlin wouldn’t be deceived by those words.

  Yes, he was aware that Professor Dmitri was not the best of persons to Nikolai, and he was the cause of all that had happened to Nikolai, but he would not let the mastermind behind countless of unreported Berserkers going on a rampage deceive him into thinking he was not at fault. He saw no reason to redirect his fury; after all, he already had a good chunk of it reserved for Professor Dmitri.

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  “Hmmm. Not enough then,” the man said, noticing that his words had no effect on Merlin. “You do know none of those who took the drug were forced, don’t you?” he explained, but Merlin’s scrunched expression didn’t loosen. “I think it’s selfish of you to want to impose your ideal on others. Those who seek out the drug you’re so against are weak beyond their want. They desire strength and power. To feel the same thrill as those S-Class and A-Class Mages. That is why they search and grab on to any means that will give them that. Unlike you, most aren’t lucky to just spawn a unique power out of the blue. Like I said, don’t you think it’s selfish of you to try to make decisions for those who have nothing to lose and everything to gain?’

  Merlin’s breath hitched, his expression faltering. The man smiled.

  “Nikolai Volkov made his decision, Merlin Tyrrell,” the man continued. “I did not force him. He came to me for power, and I gave him power. However, with great power comes great consequences. Those consequences are what he faced for such an insurmountable spike of power. You should not blame a mere cheerful giver like me.”

  Merlin couldn’t take it anymore. His neck tightened, and after a great battle, he forced his mouth open.

  “He almost died,” Merlin said, his words heavy as they left his lips. “You almost killed him.”

  The man sighed. “Naive. Did everything I say enter through one ear and escape through the other? Your friend made his choice.”

  “He was not given a choice,” Merlin argued. “Anyone would take such an offer of power. The wise thing is to make certain such evil is nowhere in sight in the first place.”

  Merlin knew because he had been just as desperate once. He couldn’t help but imagine what he would have done if it was the drug that had been offered to him instead of the System back then. With how quickly he had accepted the System, he couldn’t imagine himself not doing the same with the drug. And that annoyed him to no end.

  “So you would condemn those who seek to help the weak?” the man asked, his tone suddenly taking a dive into harshness. “Would you be saying the same if you were still just a mere Deficient Mage?”

  Merlin’s nose twitched. But he refused to let a skewed sense of reasoning keep him silent.

  “Help does not equate to exploitation,” he said. “If one has agreed to help another, then it should be done without any severe consequences in return. What your drug is doing isn’t helping. And if it isn’t that, then it’s exploitation. You have something to gain by administering it to those desperate for power. You’re evil.”

  The man fell silent. Then he sighed.

  “Evil is a strong word, Merlin,” he said. “The world isn’t black or white. No one is truly evil or good, but shaped by how others view their actions.” He took his hand from Merlin’s arm. “But arguing about such at this moment will be anything but optimal. I’m sure we’ll have another chance to talk again.”

  Merlin’s forehead creased. He opened his mouth to speak, but his Perception shook and he turned to his side to see Nora walking towards him.

  “Nerd,” she voiced. “What do you think you’re doing? Come in. It’s time.”

  The oppressive feeling that had pressed Merlin to his seat up until that moment vanished from his body, and he turned sharply to his side, ignoring Nora for the mysterious man who had approached him. But no one was there. Just as he hadn’t noticed the man walk up to him, so he hadn’t noticed him leave. And it seemed Nora didn’t as well.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, snapping Merlin out of his daze. “Get up already.”

  Merlin blinked owlishly, then pushed himself to his feet.

  Did he vanish? It’s just like when that lady left. No one seems to notice their presence besides me. What’s going on?

  Merlin gulped, his fingers twitching instinctively out of fear. Just as he turned around to follow Nora, a warm, fuzzy sensation crept up his neck. It was the feeling he usually got when someone he was especially close to was coming towards him.

  His gaze flashed towards the sky; bound towards him was Blue, his long body sweeping through the sky like a snake’s, as his wings flapped gently. No one else noticed the dragon besides Merlin.

  Merlin’s brows furrowed.

  He had explicitly told the dragon to remain indoors; why was he here?

  Then the fuzzy sensation over Merlin turned quickly into an ice cold one, and he noticed that Blue was not heading towards him with the usual pet-like demeanor he, most of the time, had. There was a ferocious glint to his eyes, and his teeth were bared.

  Merlin’s heart almost leaped out of his chest. Instinctively, he began to channel mana. But as Blue got a lot closer, he realized that the ferocity the dragon had wasn’t directed at him.

  Blue gave a low hiss as he arrived at where Merlin stood. He surrounded him and burned his gaze into Merlin’s arm, sniffing where the mystery man had held him just a while ago. When Blue realized that the trouble Merlin faced had passed, his expression softened, and he wrapped himself around Merlin’s shoulders, deciding not to leave his sight again.

  Merlin blinked, confused. Blue had noticed the danger all the way from the dorm. How?